Electronic Charting Aboard APL China

Guiding a giant containership over an arduous, 35-day Trans-Pacific trade route is serious business, as American Ship Management, LLC (ASM), which operates 11 large high-speed containerships on behalf of APL, Ltd., knows too well. To ensure the journies are conducted in a safe, efficient manner, ASM selected C-MAP's CM-93/3 global electronic chart database for the helm of the C-11 Class, 4,800 TEU container ship APL China, one of the largest container ships in the ASM fleet. With 20,000+ global electronic charts on one CD and ondemand corrections via the Internet or email, CM-93/3 provides the crew of APL China the most up-to-date electronic charts for every port and every harbor in the world. APL China's typical 35-day voyage takes it to San Pedro, CA; Oakland, CA; Dutch Harbor, AK; Yokohama, Japan; Pusan Harbor, South Korea; Xiamen, China; Hong Kong, China; Yantian, China and Kaoshiung, Taiwan. The captain and bridge crew of the APL China depend on C-MAP's CM-93/3 electronic chart database — integrated with the ship's AIS, two ARPA radars and Sperry Voyage Management System (VMS) — every step of the way. "Our crew uses the C-MAP system all the time, because it interfaces smoothly with the VMS," said APL China Captain Mark Remijan. The VMS is an advanced Professional Electronic Chart System (ECS) from Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine unit. In addi- tion to reading CM-93/3 electronic charts, it offers a variety of additional modules including; Conning Display, Planning Station, Automatic Navigation and Track Keeping System, Vessel Advance Prediction, Voyage Data Recorder and Vessel Optimization and Safety. In March 2003, APL China completed her changeover to a U.S. flagged vessel and a few months later had her Sperry VMS upgraded to C-MAP CM-93/3.

Watch officers immediately noted an increase in available information, improvement in chart coverage on their trade route and better display quality. "I have no doubt that with our new C-MAP charts, navigational safety has been improved, as well as the effectiveness of the bridge team in congested waters," said Captain Remijan. "Their continued expansion into the foreign Asian ports has been especially rewarding for us as our global coverage for this part of the world is as up-to-date as any other developed port area," said C-MAP/Commercial Operations Manager, Eric James. "We count on C-MAP and our Sperry VMS as an important supplement to our paper charts," added Captain Remijan. All C-MAP CM-93/3 subscription customers are entitled to unlimited access to the C-MAP Real Time Updating (RTU) service to download important changes like Notice to Mariners updates from anywhere around the globe.